>> welcome to the "journal" coming to from dw in berlin. >> our top story this hour -- the united nations condemns north korea as a threat to international peace after they conducted another nuclear test. speculation grows over who might be pope benedict xvi's successor after he steps down later this month. >> today is red hand day, highlighting the plight of child soldiers around the world.

north korea says it will not bowed to international pressure to end its nuclear program. the country carry out its third nuclear test on tuesday, breaking u.n. resolutions, and for their actions could still be to come. >> p'yongyang says the test is an act of self-defense against what it calls hostility from the united states, but the move was only served to increase its isolation from the rest of the world. washington has confirmed north korea had told the u.s. government about the test beforehand. and even china, north korea's sole ally, has urged pyongyang to stop before it makes matters worse. >> tensions are high in south korea. protesters denounced north korea's nuclear tests. north korean state media claim the country had exploded a more powerful bomb than it had been able to build a earlier.

diplomats at the united nations security council emergency meeting also expressed alarm. >> countries around the world, including every member of this security council, agreed that this test was an extremely regrettable act that further undermines international peace and security. >> many countries will likely impose new sanctions against north korea, but observers say that china has the most leverage. >> for china, it will depend on showing that north korea has gone too far this time and it will not go without consequences for the north korean-chinese relationship. i expect that china will also decide on painful sanctions for north korea. >> china is north korea's protector, but p'yongyang carried out the nuclear test not far from the countries shared border. the testing ground is in the northeast of the country, the same location as its two

previous nuclear tests of 2006 and 2009. >> with this test and the threat of others, observers say p'yongyang is flexing its muscles. north korean state to be displayed the country's weapons arsenal. leader kim jong un may well be hoping to assert himself at home in his new role. >> for more on our story, we ask our correspondent who was in south korean capital, seoul, when north korea went ahead with this test now. >> it is not clear why they took the time to do it. this two possible issues. one is they are in a three-year cycle of missile and nuclear tests of 2006, 2005, and of course, the recent test was december 2012. another possible issue is we are now in a power transition here in south korea with an outgoing

government and an incoming government. the government changes on february 25. any changes now would hamper any response by the outgoing government. >> thanks very much. >> the united nations says the number of people killed in the syrian civil war is nearly 70,000 since the fighting began nearly two years ago. the rebels in syria said they have seized a military airfield, for the first time capturing warplanes including mig fighters. >> footage was posted on the internet that purportedly shows the rebels. rebel commanders said government forces used the base to bomb rural areas around a level. that is thought at least two of the captured fighting jets are in working order. rebels also seized ammunition for the warplanes. >> there has been a lot of speculation -- who will replace pope benedict xvi? many catholics around the world are hoping the next pope might

come from outside europe for the church is growing. >> the conclave of cardinals plans to vote on who will be the next pope by the end of march. the vatican has announced that pope benedict will play no role in the selection process. >> a moment of silent prayer for pope benedict. from the philippines to nigeria and mexico, news of the pontiff's's resignation spread around the world. though the news caught the faithful by surprise, many catholics expressed sympathy for benedict's condition. >> he needs a rest. he has done a lot. it is a sign of humility on his part to pass on the responsibility of leading all the world's catholics. >> benedict said he no longer had the strength to carry out his ministry. those were historic words. he is the first pope to abdicate in almost six centuries.

this german cardinal believes the move could signal a new era for how future popes will deal with the responsibility of the office. >> in contrast to others in the church and in society, benedict is not clinging to power. rather, he understands that it is an authority that was conferred upon him that he must exercise for the greater good of the entire church. that is already considerable speculation about who will succeed the pope. one candidate is the current cardinal secretary of state. other top candidates might include the canadian cardinal and one from nigeria. archbishop of sao paulo is also considering a possible successor. he represents latin america's fast-growing catholic community. benedict has only a few weeks left in office before the

world's catholics must say goodbye to his papacy. >> with that growing speculation about a successor, many people are still wondering about current post -- pope's declining health. as the world's 1 billion catholics come to grips with the news, some are hoping the next pope will be younger. >> tourists waited in line, but it was far from business as usual at st. peter's square. reporters from around the world have come here as well. on tuesday, the vatican spokesman held a press conference. he said pope benedict made his decision to resign after his trip to new mexico and cuba last march. >> this trip, combined with the witness that comes with old age, led him to his decision to resign. >> the pope's brother said benedict had thought the matter

over carefully. >> it is his view that he cannot responsibly perform his duties as long as he does not have his full strength and that it requires someone younger with more power. >> the senior cardinal said benedict's time at the head of the church was marked by reflection as well as out of reach. >> it was a reserve papacy but a tremendously important one. he possessed the principles of faith and theological incisiveness. >> pope benedict did not make any special appearances on tuesday. >> france's national assembly has approved a controversial bill that allows homosexual couples to marry and have other rights. >> the legislation now has to be approved by the france senate in order to become law. president hollande made same-sex marriage part of his election platform last year. the vote follows months of

protests and demonstrations by groups on both sides of the issue. the legislation also guarantees adoption rights for gay and lesbian couples. for more on this, we go now to our correspondent who joins us live from paris. a majority of people in france reportedly said that they support this, so why is it so controversial? >> a majority does support gay marriage, but a much closer margin is on other issues, some of which appear in the legislation. it also includes adoption by gay couples of children, the right to adopt, and that is more marginal. what the opponents think is that further steps are also planned by the government, which would allow gay couples to use sperm donors or surrogate mothers in order to have babies of their own. on that, there is a much clearer majority against.

>> this still has to go to the french senate, as we mentioned. is it likely to be approved? >> it is. for the first time in many decades or probably ever, the french left could get all of the legislature across the country. but there will also be purchased in advance. this move which has built up in advance as promised to have a big demonstration in march. it should be law by may or june. >> thanks for the update. >> spain's economy is on the ropes, and millions of people are out of work or cannot get credit. but the european central bank president has said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. >> mario draghi told the spanish parliament that he thought their economy was now on the right track and the credit would start

becoming available soon. lawmakers have put spaniards on a starvation dieieieieieieieieie qualify for eurozone bailouts. barclays bank says it will scrap some 3700 jobs as part of a major restructuring drive. half of the cuts are planned in the investment banking sector. >> that has been the british bank was the major earner in recent years but also the source of a scandal of interest- rate manipulation, which has shaken confidence in barclays. several top executives were forced to resign and the company had to pay hundreds of millions of fines. the bank has promised to win back customers trust by making ethics count more in the future. >> let's get a check now on how the markets reacted to all of that news. our correspondence sent us this report from frankfurt. >> more and more signs show that

the worst may lie behind german companies. although profits broke down, the incoming orders sent out a little glimmer of hope, which did not lead to a party on the frankfurt floor, so traders at other reasons to party. it is carnival day, and this tuesday, it is the traditional day when traders dress up in costumes and keep on partying a little bit, listening to music and start of dancing. although the situation in general is not a rally situation. >> let's get a close enough that those market numbers. the trend in frankfurt was positive on tuesday. the dax closing the day at 7660. the euro stoxx 50 up by a nice down 1% of.

in new york, the positive momentum continues. markets are still open, and the doubt is about 0.5% higher. the euro trading for $1.3453. >> well, the world's biggest party, apparently, is under way in rio de janeiro. revelers from around the globe are there to celebrate carnival. >> every year, a massive parade runs the city with while customs and dance, and when it comes to conable, no dance is more important, of course, than the sum up. >> they are the best samba dancers in brazil, and this is where they come to do battle every year. television soaps it seemed -- are the theme. the floats are adorned with characters from the most popular shows of recent years. >> it was a great feeling, a

really great feeling. god willing, we will win. >> competition is tough. 12 top schools are competing to be named the best. the dancers practice for years for their moment in front of 80,000 spectators. but even though the carnival season is drawing to a close, the competition is not quite over yet. a jury will pick the six best schools who will dance in the victory parade at the weekend. >> a russian cargo rocket has docked at the international space station in record time. new digital steering technology enabled the unpiling craft to complete the journey from earth in just six hours. >> it is to take two days -- imagine that. the vessel was carrying almost 3 tons of supplies including fuel, scientific equipment, and a culinary specialty -- smoked

sausages with cheese and garlic at the special request of the station's three russian crew members. >> sounds like they had a feast. >> we have to take a short break. back in a minute. stay tuned.

>> welcome back. u.s. president barack obama will deliver the annual state of the union address in just a few hours in washington. he will set out his plans for a second term in office. >> north korea's nuclear plant is likely to top his plan of foreign policy issues, but domestically, he also has a host of policies to address from immigration to climate change to gun legislation. >> note issue will get as much attention as the economy. unemployment is still high and almost 8%, and while there have been some encouraging signs of recovery, many americans are still struggling to get by. >> the noise may be unpleasant,

but people here are happy to have jobs. local carpet factories are employed in -- an important employer. delta calls itself the carpet capital of the world. over the years, immigrants have flocked to the city to work in such factories. today, about half the population is hispanic. intel was hit hard by the financial crisis. them in mid 2009, our business was hit with the recession just like everybody else, so we limped along for a couple of years, but now that we are starting to see business slowly go back up. >> but things are far from getting back to normal in dalton. many factories closed after the property bubble burst. unemployment here now stands at 11%, higher than the national average. to get by, residents save wherever they can, and they

expect governments both here and in washington, to do the same period >> we are frustrated because no matter who you send up there, republican or democrat -- the only difference i can see in the two -- they both believe in the government. democrats believe in taxing for big government. republicans believe in borrowing all the money for big government. >> money is short. the latest technology is often unavailable. but 2/3 of the students come from democrats. many are undocumented and have no right to stay in the u.s., a problem washington has so far failed to solve. the school principal says many of his students are anxious. >> they want to know what their future is. "will i be able to go to college? will i be able to find employment?" the same concerns everyone else has. they just it's a different set of obstacles that it is sometimes difficult for us to relate to. >> this police officer has been employed to keep the schools

say. the memory of the school massacre in newtown, connecticut, is still fresh in everyone's minds. teachers do not want to carry weapons. they hope this police officer will be determined enough -- deterrent enough, but there's no sign of a change in mentality on guns. shooting ranges continue to be popular. nicholas held his first gun when he was four years old. now he is 12 and is a regular at the range. he is known as one of the finest shops in town. guns kill 900 americans every month. but this shooting range employee says the government should not restrict gun ownership. >> i think it is wrong the way they are going about it, trying to infringe on the whole population because there's a few bad apples, which always exist in every society. >> that view is common in dalton. the people here have little

faith in the government's ability to improve their lot, not when it comes to the economy or the status of undocumented migrants or gun laws. >> back here in germany, 2013 could be a good year for the economy. that's the message from the german chambers of commerce and industry. >> they've been pulling about 28,000 businesses across the country, asking what plans are for the year. they say that those businesses are getting more optimistic with worries over the eurozone debt crisis now easing. those worries contributed to a slump at the end of 2012. now there are hopes of a rebound. >> located in the middle of the black forest, testo produces measuring instruments. one of its newest products is this thermal imaging camera. the company expects turnover to go up around 8% this year. they recruited 100 new staff last year. now they plan to employ more --

a trend that can be seen across the board. the survey says half of all firms question expect to hire additional workers. 28% say they will stay the same size while 22% expect to get by with fewer staff. economists are optimistic. german industry has recovered from last year's downturn. >> it looks like business confidence for the coming year is not that bad. if things go well, we expect business activity to pick up in the course of the year. >> as so often in the past, much of that growth will be driven by exports from small to mid-size companies. >> but the u.s. tire maker goodyear is not taking any chances in europe. it has lowered its profit forecast and said to restructure operations in the region. >> car sales in europe have been relatively weak, a trend that weighed on fourth quarter earnings, which only broke even. >> it is not entirely clear what

the company plans to do with the restructuring, but we could see more plant closures like the one already announced in france. >> protesters gathered outside goodyear's french headquarters in a paris suburb. the american tire company announced plans to close its factory in northern france, costing some 12 million workers their jobs. >> from what i see on television, it does that seem to be better elsewhere. there is nothing on the job market. maybe it is because of the owners. i do not know. >> goodyear said it made the decision after five years of talks with labor unions failed to produce an agreement on a partial shutdown. the union leaders said the tire maker never negotiated in good faith. >> now, we are seeing companies closing and jobs being cut because of speculation on the financial markets. we do not want that.

we want to keep our jobs. we know how to do our jobs, and we want to keep them. >> the factory is just one victim of falling car sales in europe. goodyear said the plant accounted for a loss of more than 60 million euros just in 2011. >> it was also a bad start to the year for one of the world's leading steelmakers. revenues and profits were down again. >> the german steel giant earned just 29 million euros, below expectations. the company recently announced plans to cut 2000 jobs in europe. it is also trying to sell off steel plants in brazil and the u.s., which have caused massive losses. >> switching gears now. in conflicts around the world, children are often recruited and forced into fighting. child soldiers sometimes as young as five take part in combat and killing. and today, february 12, has

been designed red hand day by activists in an effort to highlight the plight of the children who are drawn into conflicts. every year, the initiative collects hand prints in its campaign against the use of children in war zones. them of their situation is dangerous, often life- threatening. some of these children fought for the guerrilla groups and then escaped. others feared being recruited. none finds it easy to talk about what they have experienced. they fear being recognized. this boy is 16. he spent half a year with the farc. >> i did not get along with my family, so i decided to join the guerrillas. i had to do really bad things, so i ran away while i was on guard duty. >> he misses his family. and my mother most of all. she is the most important to me. >> known as the city of you,

this is a self-governed children's republic created to help young people learn how to stand on their own two feet. almost everyone here has known quite a different reality -- that of war and taking orders. this theologian set up the community and has been living here for 34 years. for many of the children, he is like a father. >> colombia's armed conflict has been going on for years, and the same thing is happening here as elsewhere. children, boys, girls, are used as tools of war. that makes reality very difficult for children. >> some come here just for the chance to finally leave a normal life. >> i am here for my education. i could not study in my home

town. it is a very dangerous place. my family was threatened sometimes. we had to flee. >> for some, a few months or enough time to be able to escape from the guerrillas' sights, but for this boy, there is no going home to his mother. the guerrillas would kill him. >> all right, now, at the berlin film festival, the eagerly anticipated films "closed curtain" played to audiences for the first time. the film's director was unable to make it to the festival. >> he has been banned by traveling, the iranian government. in the film, he plays a film director locked inside a house, cut off from the outside world. he made the movie despite being denied permission by iranian

authorities. >> wrestling looks set to lose its status as an olympic sport as part of a revamp of the summer games. the international olympic committee has been wrestling on a list of seven disciplines vying for just one empty slot in the 2020 games. >> it has been a model of a program for over a century. a final decision will be taken later this year. i'm rooting for those guys. i think they should get their spot. >> for more sports and other news, you can also check out our website, dw.de. >> thanks for watching.